Saturday, March 27, 2010

Comparing--Part 1

"She isn't less than, or more than, the next woman or man. She is her own entity which becomes cheapened when compared to others. When following the promptings inside of her soul to do whatever is important for her own life plan she simply has no equal." -cjane

Wow this quote summarized exactly what I've been thinking about all week.

I would say one of the major downsides of personal blogs and facebook is that it heightens comparison.

Many people now feel that in order to be happy, they need to prove it to everyone--everyone in the web world at least. I just read a friends' blog post that basically said she feels like a crappy mom because she sees other mom blogs and feels she isn't doing as much as them. Note: this woman felt she needed to go back to school, so she did (following the promptings insider her soul, which is GOOD!) which obviously means she may not have time to go to the zoo or travel to the ocean every weekend as other people may have. It saddened me, because I know that MANY women feel this way...and this is dangerous to our self-worth.

Lets be honest. Everyone looks as though they have an awesome life in pictures. Why would you snap a picture of you and your hubby in the middle of an argument, and post it? We all tend to take pictures of good times and moments--which is great for positivity and good memories....but not so great when all of a sudden everyone is competing and comparing who has the "better life."

Side note: what constitutes a "good life" anyways? I would say the measure of joy we feel, and how much we enjoy life...and that is not comparable from one person to the next, only you truly know that (topic for another time).

Our worth as INDIVIDUALS is indeed cheapened when we compare ourselves to others. We all came down to earth with different baggage (different skills, talents, faults, looks, likes, dislikes, views etc..) so it doesn't even make sense to try and compare ourselves to ANYONE else.

It's like comparing a professional basketball player to a professional artist, and asking who has more talent...

Why do we do this????

I have come to learn that in order to be happy, and I mean truly happy, I need to be happy with me, all of me: pros and cons...and yes or course, work on my weaknesses as I go along. Don't get me wrong...I think it is human nature (for a lot of women at least) to compare, and yes I have been guilty of just that many times. But over the past few years I have read and researched a lot about living to be happy, to have JOY, and to live abundantly in all areas...and I love what I've learned, and I like to think I am applying it in full force and improving little by little.

Want to be happier? Don't compare.

Instead, be grateful. You are so blessed in your own individual way: seek to realize it and live a grateful and happy life, really.

Next post will be about the second half of that quote: "When following the promptings inside of her soul to do whatever is important for her own life plan she simply has no equal."

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